On Monday, HR1284 will be heard in the house judiciary committee. As you read the good parts of the bill below, ask yourself: Is this in the spirit of the constitutional amendment that Colorado's voters approved? I'll be asking what Sick Sadie, Druggie Dave and Officer McLaw will think. Here's the part that the caregivers are most upset about:
A primary caregiver may serve no more than 5 patients on the registry at one time, unless the department allows more patients due to exceptional circumstances.
Sick Sadie: Who are these caregivers? Why should I develop relationships with these strangers who were drug dealers yesterday and are caregivers today?
Druggie Dave: When is my dealer going legal? And how do I make sure I'm in his fav 5?
Officer McLaw: 5, you get 5, don't let me catch you at six or I'll bust ya!
I'm not going to make an argument why health care in this country is decades behind. We all know that. I'm not going to tell you how utterly illegitimate the scare tactics from the Right have been in this argument, mostly because we all know it and if we don't, then they're are too numerous to list here.
I hope everyone is watching or listening to thing unfold on C-SPAN. The Republicans can't STFU because they've finally fulfilled their wet dream of feeling like victims. Please help me with the highlights of the event in the comments below.
Let us not forget the racism and biggotry so entrenched in the opposition's ideology and their corporate sponsors:
Happy Sunday Bread Heads! This week we're going to be making French Bread in the boule style. Also, since you all have been so good, there will be a recipe to turn your French Bread into French Toast!
French bread is really old school. It has four ingredients, flour, water, yeast and salt. That is it. But from those basic ingredients you can get one of the all time best breads, if you are willing to take the time to do it right.
Hello SquareState! I just want to say hi directly, as one of the new owners. I am very excited to be a part of this blog and this community. Blogging is an amazing thing. It allows us to have conversations in a large, public forum. It also levels the playing field, allowing all opinions to be created equal. The quality of this blog will be determined by the participation of those it serves. That's kind of how democracy works too. I am an adamant supporter of participation in our communities and our democracy, which is why I'm helping to facilitate this blog.
It is also why I'm running for Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder. Sometimes participation means stepping forward in different ways, and this is what it means for me. I will be blogging about my campaign and the things I think are important to the office. SquareState invites all candidates and incumbents to blog here. Because of my candidacy (and day job), Fong is doing most of the work and speaking for SquareState. But we are both committed to this forum and we welcome your input. Let's BLOG!
Happy Saturday Everyone! From looking at the picture with this post you have to be thinking that I have lost my mind. How in the world can a grate in the sidewalk be art? Well, from a visual point of view you are exactly correct, but this is not just any grate.
Along Curtis Street in Denver, between the Performing Arts Center and the 16th Street Mall is one of my all time favorite pieces of public art. As you walk along you will start to hear sounds coming from below the street. You might hear lions roaring or pigs grunting or trains or even tap-dancing. All of this is the work of artist Jim Green and it is called "Talking Sidewalk.
(Romanoff is calling for the Senate (read: Bennet) to take bold action. But he doesn't quite say what he would do if he was in the Senate. Is it so obvious it goes without saying? - promoted by Fong)
March 19, 2010
For immediate release
Romanoff: Where's the 'Public Option' Champion?
After learning today that no member of the United States Senate would stand up for a "public option" in health care reform, U.S. Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff issued the following statement:
"As Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, I led the fight against insurance companies that unreasonably delay or deny their customers' valid claims. I know first-hand the lengths that industry will go to resist reform.
"I am deeply disappointed to learn that no member of the U.S. Senate is willing to offer an amendment to restore the public option to the health care bill.
"Millions of Americans cannot afford to keep up with the soaring costs of health insurance. That is why a majority of the American people support a public option. The Congressional Budget Office has concluded that a public option will reduce the deficit.
"I call on the leadership of the U.S. Senate to allow an up-or-down vote on the public option. We should not allow the insurance industry to kill the competition the American public wants."
About Andrew Romanoff
Elected to four terms in the Colorado legislature, Andrew Romanoff was the Speaker of the House from 2005 to 2009. He led the Democrats to their first back-to-back majorities in more than 40 years. His leadership earned national recognition, including Governing magazine's top honor as Public Official of the Year.
John Hickenlooper, Denver's current mayor and candidate for Colorado's 2010 Governor race, is continuing his bid to show Coloradans who can worship the most at the feet of the business community: himself or Con candidate Scott McInnis. Coloradans are looking for a choice, Mayor. If you try to paint yourself as Republican-lite, Coloradans will choose the true Republican.
What has raised my ire today? Another Denver Post article detailing the mayor's words at a Chamber of Commerce meeting yesterday. According to the mayor, Colorado is now known as an anti-business state, Ritter sided with "overboard" environmentalists and raising taxes in a recession is "crazy".
At this point, Hick is going to have to work very, very hard to secure my vote this November. I don't want a person with a "D" after their name in the Governor's mansion governing like he wants to be a Con.
Administrators with the Adams County Democratic Party plan to turn over financial records to the Adams County sheriff later this week after a CBS4 Investigation revealed the party's former treasurer is suspected of using political donations for personal expenses.
"There were definitely questionable things done that I would not have allowed to happen if I knew," said Marty Wisniewski, the chairman of the Adams County Democratic Party, which he said takes in about $24,000 each year in contributions. "We're finding more and more."
Wisniewski indicated the former volunteer treasurer for the Adams County Democratic Party, Elmer "Butch" Hicks, is at the center of the controversy. Hicks went on to become treasurer for the Colorado Democratic Party, a position he abruptly resigned last week citing "personal reasons," according to Pat Waak, Colorado Democratic Party Chair.
I just received word that Personhood Colorado, the proponents of the "eggmendment" measure to give due process and property rights to fertilized eggs has acquired 46,671 signatures to get back on the ballot. After petitions were thrown out by the Secretary of State for having unacceptable notarizations, the organization was allowed a few more weeks to collect 15,000 more signatures to cure the discrepancies resulting from the tossed petitions.
The previous measure, Amendment 48, was defeated in 2008 76-24% and was touted by opponents as "simply goes too far."
The general assembly finds and declares that payday lenders are charging more than an average of three hundred percent interest annually and that excessive interest rates can lead Colorado families into a debt trap of repeat borrowing. The general assembly further finds that responsible small loans are available at interest rates of thirty-six percent annually or less and that Congress has enacted laws capping rates on loans made to military families at thirty-six percent. Therefore, the general assembly submits to a vote of the people of Colorado the question of whether the maximum authorized interest rate for a payday loan charged to a consumer by a lender should be reduced to a maximum rate of thirty-six percent per year.
The insanely high interest rates (sometimes over 500%) on the loans create both a cycle of poverty and a bubble in the economy. How many of the hideous, free-standing huts that give Colfax ave that shoddy feel from Simms Ave to Chambers Rd are from these sharks? The usual complaints of the bill being a job killer are thrown around like confetti. We can't build an industry that profits off of the already poor so they (we) can sink like a brick and somehow think it's sustainable or excusable because "it's a job-killer". Despite the many signs that contradict, legislators are still human. What kind of human do you want to be (representing you)?
Word is that Democratic Reps Sue Schafer (HD24), Debbie Benefield (HD29), Jim Reisberg (HD50) are considering a NO vote. Find out for yourself by sending them an email by clicking on their names.
(Jason is the Editor of the Seminal, which is Fire Dog Lakes community blog. - promoted by Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said )
The health reform vote is coming in the House. Representative Betsy Markey (CO-04) needs to listen to us, not the insurance companies.
In Markey's district, the House's improvements to the Senate health reform bill will [pdf]:
Improve coverage for 464,000 residents with health insurance.
Give tax credits and other assistance to up to 170,000 families and 18,900 small businesses to help them afford coverage.
Improve Medicare for 88,000 beneficiaries, including closing the donut hole.
Extend coverage to 69,000 uninsured residents.
Guarantee that 14,100 residents with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage.
Protect 1,400 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.
Allow 70,000 young adults to obtain coverage on their parents' insurance plans.
Provide millions of dollars in new funding for 25 community health centers.
Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and other health care providers by $60 million annually.
A vote for health reform is a vote to stand with these people. A vote against health reform is a vote for the status quo, where insurance companies make record profits by raising rates by double digits (20% in Colorado in the last few months) and dropping millions of customers from their rolls.
The House may vote on health reform as early as this weekend. When the vote comes, Representative Markey has a chance to show us that she's on our side.
A couple of days ago someone pointed out that I had two differing views on a topic in the same post. It came from my need to give some credence to the ideas that disagree with mine, but it is not the only time I find myself in conflict with myself. Take the situation with the incredibly vile and to my mind utterly worthless members of Westboro Baptist Church. These are the malignant and maleficent idiots that protest at military funerals with signs that say such warm and fluffy things as "Semper Fi Fags" and "God Hates You". They are protesting what they see as the over acceptance of homosexuality in America. They believe that God is punished the United States with 9/11 for our tolerance of our gay citizens.
The Colorado 2010 caucus was above average attendance last night. In 2008 over 92,000 people attended compared to 2006 with just over 8,000. As of press time, there is close to 22,000 or 2.7 times the 2006 levels.
The constellation of GOP numbers [.pdf] makes things interesting. Cleve Tidwell is out (not so interesting, but maybe now we can have some closure). Tea Partyboy Ken Buck and "old guard Jane" Norton are in a dead heat with over a third of the vote each. Former State Senator Tom Wiens doesn't have to petition onto the ballot with 16%.
Second, there is a resolution Democrats Rep. Andy Kerr, Senator John Morse, and Speaker of the House Terrance Carroll are encouraging people to propose at their caucuses.
From the video
We therefore call on the Colorado General Assembly to restore the legal rights to Colorado's largest consumer group: homeowners
